Into the Wild
by Hazza137
Summary: The sole survivor of a Samson crash deep in the Pandoran jungle, Corporal Jade West encounters a young Na'Vi whom she forces to guide her home. But as the two travel together, they discover that their conflict isn't as black-and-white as it seems. UPDATE!
1. Crash

Many miles from the spaceport known as Hell's Gate, a section of the Pandoran jungle had been scarred and blackened from a helicopter crash. The Samson light aircraft had been shattered into so many shards of twisted metal embedded in the ground. Fuel had leaked from the broken fuel lines and left a dark stain on the ground. The pilot was slumped forward in his seat, dead from the crash. Most of the passengers were strewn around the crash sites, either dead outright from the crash or slowly choking on Pandora's atmosphere.

But not all. A single survivor uncurled from the protective ball she had rolled into. Every inch of her was covered in scrapes or bruises, but she was alive. She had been one of the door gunners, and the impact of the Samson hitting a tree on the way down had shaken her free. If not for that, and the fact that she had already been wearing her exopack, she would be dead.

"Oh God, what happened?" Corporal Jade West groaned, going to rub her eyes before remembering her breathing mask. She stood up with difficulty, using a nearby tree to support herself. Looking up, Jade remembered hitting most of the branches on the way down, and winced. Her fall would have been lethal on Earth, but Pandora's lesser gravity and greater air density had slowed her enough to survive.

Trying to ignore her injuries, Jade scanned the crash site for any survivors. She spotted a breathing man near her, but her hopes were dashed when she rushed up and saw that his breathing mask had shattered. She witnessed the final conscious seconds of a man dying from the poisonous atmosphere.

Jade wandered the site aimlessly for a moment or two, nervously running her fingers through her hair and cursing in panicked, high-pitched voice. Eventually she forced herself to calm down and assess the situation, deciding that going into hysterics wouldn't solve anything.

"I'm on a routine chopper patrol when something makes us crash and now I'm stuck alone in the jungle where everything wants to kill me and I'm miles from the nearest base, but I don't even know which direction because I can't find my compass! SHIT!" Jade felt rising panic and forced herself to calm down.

Jade searched the crash site for an unbroken radio or, failing that, anything she could salvage to protect herself. She didn't want to stagger halfway to the space port only to be mauled by a Viperwolf. All she came up with a loaded Wasp revolver and a single spare speedloader, plus her sheathed combat knife. Despite her woeful lack of supplies, Jade forced herself to keep it together and find out which way to go. Doing some calculations involving a fuzzy mental map of the area, Jade figured that if she set out north-west from the crash site she was bound to find some evidence of RDA presence.

Adjusting the seal on her mask, Jade set off on her long journey, unaware of a presence watching her.

"Join SecOps, they said," Jade muttered to herself, edging through an enormous fern with her hand on her sidearm. "They could use a dedicated woman like you, they said. Funny how they left out that the planet will kill you for sneezing wrong. Great benefits, though."

An hour later, Jade was starting to think that her plan was hopeless. The Pandoran forest was just an endless sea of green shades, blocking out most of the setting sun and casting foreboding shadows. Anything could be hiding in the shadows, watching and waiting for the right time to strike. Jade swore she could see Viperwolves at the edge of her vision, constantly circling to surround her. It was just when Jade started wondering how she would make a shelter for herself come nightfall when she entered a small clearing. Still wary of homicidal fauna, Jade aimed her Wasp with her right hand and held her knife in her left hand with a reverse grip.

There was an ever-so-slight rustling behind her. Jade whipped around, finger tightening around the trigger. A shape loomed over her, humanoid in shape. Jade just managed to make out that the eight-foot-tall creature had blue skin before her attention was occupied by the club it was swinging two-handed down on her head.


	2. A Chance Meeting

Jade dodged to the left, bringing up her gun level with her assailant's chest. The club missed her head and caught her upper arm with a glancing blow. Jade could have shrugged off the blow had it been a human attacker. The force of the strike numbed her entire right arm, her gun dropping from nerveless fingers. Her attacker wound up for a horizontal swing. Reacting quicker than she ever had before, Jade ducked. A blur of movement, the club parting the dense air on its path, then blinding pain in her skull. The straps of her helmet snapped and sent the headgear spinning into the undergrowth.

Jade felt her body enter autopilot. Her knife arm flashed out, too slow to be of any use. The Na'Vi saw it coming and jumped back, the slash passing its stomach harmlessly. Jade let her arm complete the arc and switched her knife to her right hand. Another vicious slash hit nothing but air, the impetus sending her past her opponent. As it began its third swing Jade darted so close that the Na'Vi lost the advantage of its club. She grabbed its outstretched arms and rammed her shoulder into its torso. Using the Na'Vi's own momentum against it, Jade swung the whole gangly creature over her body in one swift movement and slammed it into the ground.

It seemed dazed by the impact, giving Jade enough time to grab it by the hair braid and yank it off-balance. Its cry of pain was suddenly cut off as she brought her knife to its throat.

"The Colonel told us you were hard to kill," Jade panted, trying to breathe in more oxygen than her mask was filtering. "I guess he never met you."

The Na'Vi started to struggle, but froze when Jade pressed her knife in hard enough to draw blood. She spied her gun lying close by and picked it up. She sheathed her knife in its holster slung across her chest and rather pointedly cocked the hammer of her revolver. Starting to feel faint, Jade turned on the high intake valve on her mask and tried to get her heart beating normally again. Her head was still thumping like she'd taken a bottle of tequila and a dirtnap sometime recently, and her arm felt shaky and unsteady.

Jade furrowed her brow. Now that she was taking a close look at her captive, it seemed…odd. It was actually shorter than she had first estimated, seven feet tall at the most. Tall in relation to the 6'1 Jade, but downright miniscule by Na'Vi standards. In fact, it didn't even look like a full-grown adult. More like a teenager.

"You picked the wrong woman to screw with." Jade panted when her lungs stopped being desperate enough to chance unfiltered air. "I have _not_ had a good day."

Her finger tightened on the hair-trigger.

"Wait! Don't shoot, please!"

Jade nearly dropped the gun. "You can talk?"

"Of course I can talk, I'm not an animal!"

"No I-I mean, you can speak English?"

"I guess I can, considering I'm talking to you right now!"

"Don't get snippy with me; I'm a gun-wielding woman on the edge. Did you go to Dr. Grace's school?"

"No, I asked a passing Thanator."

"I see the good doctor taught you the wonders of sarcasm." Jade sighted down the barrel of her gun. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you."

"U-uh wait! Just c-calm down, ok? Look, you're lost, right?"

"No, I'm taking this stroll in Satan's backyard for my health."

"Ok, I get the point. If you're lost I can take you back! A guide would be pretty useful, right?" The Na'Vi seemed to be sweating profusely.

"What makes you think I need a guide?" Jade retorted dismissively and turned to walk away.

"You're going to the big human city, right? I just… you're going the wrong way."

Jade stopped dead in her tracks and gripped her gun so tight her knuckles turned white. "What?"

"You've been walking in the opposite direction every since you woke up."

Jade rushed back to where the fallen Na'Vi was getting up and pushed him back into the dirt. "Have you been following me you little creep?"

"No! Well yes… a little…"

"_AND_ you just tried to kill me!"

"I was only trying to knock you out!"

"If I hadn't been wearing my helmet my head would be in those bushes over there!"

"Please stop yelling at me!"

Jade stood back and folded her arms, letting the Na'Vi stand up. "So you want to help me. How do I know you're not just going to wait until my back is turned then kill me and use my skin to make a canoe?"

The Na'Vi looked ready to puke when it pictured her suggestion. "Oh no. I tried fighting you. I don't want to repeat that."

Jade secretly agreed. She'd heard stories of the strength of Na'Vi, and the creature before her had at least some of that. She knew she'd won with skill and luck in equal measure. Sure she didn't want him around, but the alternative was wandering in a place where some of the plants might eat her. Enemy you know and all that.

"Ok guide, commune with nature. What have I been missing?" Jade asked half-sarcastically.

The Na'Vi rubbed the back of its neck. "There was a pack of ravenous Viperwolves stalking you but they seem to have backed off now that I'm here."

"Fascinating Papa Smurf." Jade said, but couldn't suppress a small giggle. The Na'Vi looked confused.

"What's funny?"

"A _really_ old show from Earth about a village of little blue people. I guess Pandora is the Planet of the Smurfy-Cats."

The Na'Vi rolled its eyes. "I wonder if I should have let you kill me instead. It might have been less painful."

Jade cocked her revolver again for emphasis. "Your wish is my command, Papa Smurf."

"Nononono, that's fine! I'm good… Look, just follow me…" the Na'Vi finally decided, leading Jade into the jungle once again.

_Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into?_ Jade thought.


	3. Balancing Act

"Just how damn big is this jungle?" Jade asked irritably, the heat starting to get to her. Every step seemed to make her body armour heavier and more uncomfortable. Plus she felt like she was walking into heavy wind when in fact the jungle was perfectly still. It didn't help matters when she glanced at her new guide and saw that he was having no troubles whatsoever.

"I have no idea. I haven't exactly travelled this far from my home before." The Na'Vi replied. It glanced back at Jade and noticed how wary she was. She had both hands on her gun, holding her knife with the outer two fingers of her left hand and clamping it to the butt of her pistol with the other two fingers. Every now at then she would sweep it over the undergrowth, but it always ended up pointed squarely at its back.

"Stop doing that. It's making me nervous." Jade's guide asked. "You can trust me."

"Says the alien who tried to club me last time my back was turned."

"Point. Taken."

The landscape started to become rockier and incline downwards. The further the pair went the steeper it got and the more the vegetation thinned out. Jade was forced to slow down and pick her way carefully down the rocky slope. Jade noticed the Na'Vi's ears twitch.

"Hear that?" it asked.

"No, unfortunately I was not blessed with kitty-cat ears at birth." Jade snapped. "What?"

"It's water. We're getting close."

The Na'Vi picked its way down nearly effortlessly, and then waited at the bottom for a puffing Jade to catch up. She briefly switched the high-intake valve and wiped sweat off her neck.

"Am I going too fast for you?" It asked.

"Oh shut up, Papa Smurf."

The pair entered another forested section. Phantom sounds seemed to ring in Jade's ears constantly, the shuffling of predatory feet in the undergrowth near deafening. Her guide seemed to take no notice, but Jade stayed on edge.

"What's it like on your world?" the Na'Vi asked suddenly.

"Crowded, poor, crap food and it smells bad. Next question."

A short silence broken only by the crunch of Jade's boots on grass.

"You're not very talkative, are you?"

"Why do you want to know anyway?" Jade demanded, suddenly suspicious.

The Na'Vi dipped its head for a second. "I'm curious, that's all. Do you have animals?"

"Ours tend to be small, cute, furry and non-lethal. Only four limbs mostly. Hardly ever devour people whole. Pretty boring by your standards. Where's this going anyway?"

"But where's your queue?"

"My what now?" Jade asked.

"You know, when you bond with your animals." The Na'Vi held up its hair braid, which sprouted tiny pink tendrils. "It's just that you don't seem to have one on your head so I was wondering-"

"Wait, what?" Jade spluttered. "You jam tentacles into the brains of your animals?"

"Y-yes, that's how we are so in tune with nature. But-"

"_I do not have wiggly mind-rape tentacles protruding from the back of my head!_" Jade cut him off.

"So how do you-"

"I had a cat I was pretty in-tune with." Jade continued. "But when he woke me up at three in the morning I didn't have the privilege of shoving mind tentacles up his nose!"

"Then how did you communicate with them?" the Na'Vi asked.

"By learning to understand them through experience. You know, the hard way. Somehow I don't think applying mind-control tentacles to the brain is really the best way."

"Obviously your inability to understand nature explains the atrocities your people are committing here." The Na'Vi replied, gaining confidence from the extended conversation.

Jade started clapping. "Bravo. You're better than my race at something because you evolved biologically to do so. Truly a grand achievement. Let me guess, your little USB ponytail can plug into trees? Can it plug into my laptop? Ooh, does it have Broadband?"

"I wouldn't expect a human to understand anyway." It retorted.

"Awful ballsy now, aren't you? I seem to recall a much different attitude when I had my gun in your face."

"Trust a human to threaten violence when arguments fail."

There was another pause.

"So is your tail a TV antenna?"

"Shut up."

"I take it back. Bringing you with me was a great idea! Annoying you is the best fun I've had in years!"

The Na'Vi's ears flattened and its tail swished from side-to-side violently. Jade's needling was working spectacularly. She became distracted when she started to hear running water too. The pair broke out of the forested area and came to a narrow gorge. A fast-flowing river had cut a deep channel through the ground, the surface of the churning water tens of metres below where Jade and the Na'Vi were standing. It seemed that the only way across was a fallen tree truck lying across the gap.

"Are you trying to get me killed?"

"This is the quickest way. I assume you don't want the pleasure of my company for any longer than necessary?"

It watched her gaze flick over the long drop and violent river. "You aren't afraid of heights, are you?"

_Yes_, her subconscious mind whispered.

_A little._ her conscious mind said.

"No." Jade said out loud. "Just don't try pushing me off when we're halfway across."

She indicated her gun. "Sparky here's dying to meet you."

The Na'Vi went first. Once it had shuffled far enough Jade sheathed her knife and followed it onto the log. The tree had been heavy and solid, which was a small mercy. Though the log wasn't wobbling, Jade had to work hard trying to balance and compensate for the extra weight in her right hand. She strained her senses for the faintest whiff of a breeze – she didn't fancy her chances trying to get across against Pandoran wind.

"What's wrong?" the Na'Vi said, standing further ahead with its arms folded. "Scared of a little fall? Just accidentally slipping off that long and-"

"Shut _UP!_" Jade growled. She shut out the Na'Vi's needling and focused on shuffling her feet along the log. Her heavy combat boots seemed to have no traction at all, ready to slip at any moment. Jade forced herself to concentrate solely on moving her feet. The Na'Vi's voice was just background noise, even as it raised its voice to make itself heard.

Wait… it was panicked now.

"Look out!" It was yelling. Jade looked up. Rocketing out of the setting sun was a Banshee. It was obviously heading straight for her, but with the sun behind it Jade could only see a vague shadow. She raised her pistol and fired, too hastily for it to be accurate. She didn't know if her shot winged it or missed entirely, as the Banshee still clipped her as it passed and sent her sprawling.

_I hate this planet._ She thought. As her feet slipped from the log she flailed for a handhold. She felt her hand catch something. It was a blue, four-fingered hand.

"Give me your other hand! Drop the gun!" The Na'Vi ordered. Jade glanced at her gun clutched tightly in her hand. She knew she still needed it. Ignoring the Na'Vi, she holstered it instead. The Na'Vi grimaced as Jade slipped out of its sweaty hands. It lunged down to catch her as Jade reached up. They clasped hands, but it was leaning too far and Jade was too heavy. There was the briefest pause before the two of them toppled into the gorge.

_This is going to suck._ Jade thought. The two of them just managed to spreadeagle themselves before they hit the water and they were swallowed by the churning darkness.


	4. River Run

Jade hit the water hard, dropping well below the surface. The Na'Vi had been shaken from her grasp and she couldn't see him beneath the water. Jade felt her lungs burn, but knew she had to hold on. The water had seeped through her exopack's filters and leaked from the air hose into her mask. She swam furiously for the surface, unhooking her exopack from her belt and holding it above her head. The instant Jade broke the surface she held her exopack as high as she could and removed her mask. She quickly put her mask back on and pressurised it. She took a few cautious breaths.

"What were you thinking?"

Jade turned around and noticed her Na'Vi guide floating beside her.

"I told you to drop the gun! Are you incapable of listening to anyone but yourself?" The Na'Vi berated her.

"Oh I'm sorry, I expected a big, strong Na'Vi like you to hold a puny human woman for more than two seconds!"

"Your hand was sweaty!" The Na'Vi shouted.

"So was yours!" Jade fired back.

"Stop trying to shift the blame on me!"

"What, like you're doing?"

"Rocks!" The Na'Vi called. The two of them pushed off each other and curved around either side of a jutting rock in the middle of the river. They kicked until they were close to each other again.

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't tried screwing with me while I was on the log!" Jade picked up the argument.

"I told you about the Banshee three times! It's not my fault that you're stubborn and ignorant!"

Jade spotted more rocks. Instead of calling out she grabbed the Na'Vi by the neck and swung him around to her left. "This is not the time for this argument!"

Jade was getting tired. Her armour was weighing her down, and she was worried that soon she wouldn't be able to keep her exopack above the water.

"Hold this." She ordered, handing her exopack to the Na'Vi. Before it could react in any way other than comply she had gone underwater and undone the clasps and buckles of her armour. She felt herself bob up as her armour drifted away and sank. Jade grabbed her exopack back.

"Is stripping your reaction to every problem?" The Na'Vi asked. Jade slapped him, an action that probably hurt her hand more than his face. It still made her feel better.

"Where does this river go?" Jade asked. "And if you say a waterfall I'm going to drown you."

"A little way downriver it goes underground. We'd have to be fish to survive down there." The Na'Vi replied.

"Come on Nature Boy, get us out of this!" Jade ordered. The Na'Vi looked around hurriedly, searching for something that could help them. Spying something further down the river it swam away, leaving Jade beating water to keep her exopack in the air.

"Human!" Jade looked up. The Na'Vi was dangling above the water, hanging from an overhanging tree root with one hand. It was reaching out with the other. Jade took the deepest breath she could, hooked her exopack back onto her belt and swam towards the Na'Vi. As the current took her past it she propelled herself from the water and grabbed its offered arm with both hands. It swung her up, using her momentum to fling her high enough to catch the ledge.

Jade dropped to her stomach, lying over the edge from the sternum-up. She dug her boots into the soil and held out a hand. The Na'Vi jumped from the tree root and just managed to grab her hand. Despite its weight pulling her down Jade hauled it up over the edge.

The two of them lay there in the dirt for a moment, panting and thanking their respective deities that they were still alive. They were both covered in dirt and mud, and Jade had bits of grit in places she didn't want to think about, but they were alive.

"Why did you help me back there?" the Na'Vi asked. "You hate me, but you didn't leave me."

"My people have a code." Jade replied, hauling herself to her feet. "'Never leave a man behind'. I'm not about to break that code, even for you."

The Na'Vi stood up as well, trying to brush off the filth but only succeeding in moving it around. He gave up quickly and glanced up at the sky. The setting sun was being blocked out by huge, dark clouds.

"It'll be dark soon. We'll need a fire if we don't want to be eaten in our sleep. I'll go get some firewood." The Na'Vi said, and left. Jade sat down and started drying out her revolver. Thunder cracked from far away, startling Jade. She looked up at the dark clouds and saw a raindrop land on her mask. It was soon followed by dozens more as the rain intensified.

Jade had always liked rain. On particularly bad days, she would pray for a nice, heavy rainstorm. Then she would stand outside, tilt her head back and let the water wash all the crap away. She had a thought.

_No. It's way too dangerous…_ She thought. _Although… when will I have a crappier day than this?_

Jade took a deep breath and pulled off her mask. A few seconds later her mind started wandering. Her situation seemed less bleak. All she had to do was keep her wits about her. And keep an eye on-

The Na'Vi appeared suddenly from behind a tree. Jade gave a little cry of surprise and quickly put her mask back on. The Na'Vi looked equally startled.

"I… uh, brought firewood." He said awkwardly.

"Oh… good. Good. Well, start a fire Nature Boy."

"I have a name, you know." The Na'Vi said a little irritably.

"Really? Then what's mine?" Jade asked. The Na'Vi almost answered before it realized it didn't know.

"At least you've stopped calling me Papa Smurf." He said to himself, stacking the firewood in a small pile along with some kindling. Jade watched him build the fire, deep in thought. By the time it was going properly the sun had gone down completely. The bioluminescent parts of Pandora began to light up.

"It is quite pretty," Jade muttered to herself. Then she realized that the Na'Vi could probably hear her and changed topics. "We'll keep watch in shifts. I'll take first watch."

"No, I will. You're tired and I've got better night vision. You'll need to be in good condition tomorrow." The Na'Vi countered. Jade didn't feel like arguing. The night was fairly warm, so she took off her olive drab leather jacket and balled it into a make shift pillow. She rolled over and shut her eyes.

"Jade."

"Huh?" The Na'Vi turned around. Jade didn't seem to have moved or given any hint that she wasn't asleep.

"My name."

Despite everything she had gone through, and despite the fact that she was lying in the middle of the Pandoran jungle with a single pistol, no armour and no backup with only one Na'Vi to watch her back, Jade fell asleep.


	5. Enlightening A Na'Vi

(A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I guess the key to getting out of obscurity is to write about something really popular :p. To those who said that the Na'Vi sounded too human - that's the idea. Explaination will come later.)

_Jade was finally home, after a year-long tour of duty. She took the elevator up to her floor in the apartment building. As she approached the door she heard voices. A male and a female, laughing. She opened the door-_

Jade woke up. She sat bolt upright and reflexively went to wipe the sweat off her forehead, her hand sliding off her mask. She stood up and put her jacket back on over her black tank top. It was that dream again – every night, regular as clockwork. Some nights she could get back to sleep, but Jade knew that tonight was not one of them.

"Bad dreams?" a voice startled Jade. It was the Na'Vi.

"I'm ok, before you ask. I don't need a glass of milk and a cuddle to go back to sleep."

"So you're packing up to leave because..."The Na'Vi let the sentence trail off.

"Because I'm sick of waiting around in this hellhole."

"Not because you can't get back to sleep, then?"

"No."

"So do you still want some milk and a cuddle?" The Na'Vi suggested innocently.

"NO, you Blue Man Group reject! Is it so hard to grasp the concept that a human DOESN'T need your all-seeing, all-knowing aid?" Jade retorted angrily.

"If you didn't need my help, I suppose I could have let you keep going the wrong way. Or I could have let you drown in the river. Or I could have just walked off while you slept."The Na'Vi listed. Jade made an angry noise that petered off as she realized the truth in what he was saying.

"Look... _fine_!" Jade gave in. "Just lead the way, ok? I don't want this trip to get any more life-threatening than it already has."

The Na'Vi looked proud of himself for winning an argument for a change and covered the dwindling fire with some dirt before leading Jade off through the jungle again. While Jade wasn't exactly a voyeur, she couldn't help but gawk at every new piece of Pandoran flora that showed up, glowing softly in the dark.

"Hey Nature Boy, why does everything sparkle?"Jade asked, and then noticed something. "More importantly, why do _you_ sparkle?"

"I think its camouflage."The Na'vi, suddenly seeming a little embarrassed that he was sparkling. "To be honest I don't see why. Generally glowing in the dark isn't a good idea when hunting."

"Sounds like this whole planet was designed by an eight-year-old girl." Jade commented. The two walked side-by-side in silence for a moment, Jade still too distracted by the jungle to look at the Na'Vi beside her.

"Wait a sec," she said. "How come you're so good at English?"

"Do I have to go through this again?" The Na'Vi rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean. Most people I know take years to master a language. I did French for three years and all I can remember is how to know if a guy is telling me about the Eiffel Tower in his pants. You haven't once pronounced a word wrong or had to translate."

"Oh, uh thanks."

"It wasn't meant as a compliment. Sounds like you did some serious study." Jade pressed, her interest growing as the Na'Vi seemed to get flustered. "Plus you're pretty curious about Earth. Is there something you're not telling me?"

"N-no!" The Na'Vi stammered, his tail flicking around nervously. Jade involuntarily burst out laughing. He looked even more embarrassed and looked away.

"It's not you," Jade said. "You just reminded me of my cat for a second there. He'd always do that with his tail when things weren't going his way. He'd stand there and wave it around like a weapon because he sure as hell wasn't going to chase me."

"Why not?" The Na'Vi asked, suddenly curious.

"Well, he only had three legs, so he would hop around like a marsupial. I named him Mouse." Jade explained. A smile started to creep across her face. There was a pause.

"You're making this up to spite me, aren't you?" The Na'Vi suspected.

"Whoops, was that a trust issue there?" Jade asked. "Good thing we don't have any of those around here!"

"Ever since I met you you've been making fun of me!" He retorted, forging off angrily into the vegetation. "I'm stuck leading you around and you haven't once given me a break- oh no."

"What?" Jade asked, suddenly worried by the Na'Vi's tone. She raced to his side. The pair was looking at a small clearing, the moonlight shining through a small gap in the canopy. A wounded Banshee was lying on the ground, flapping weakly in a vain attempt to get up. The Na'Vi rushed to its side. He tried to calm it down, but it refused to stay still and fought him off.

"Can't you just jam your tentacle into its brains?" Jade asked.

"No! I'm not supposed to, ok? I haven't gone through any of the initiations; I'm just a kid, alright? Now help me!" The Na'Vi exclaimed anxiously. Jade rushed to his side and the two of them held the Banshee down so the Na'Vi could get a look at the wound. It didn't look good. It was a long, bloody furrow that the night out on the ground hadn't been kind to. It was obviously infected, and the Banshee wasn't moving the wounded wing much.

_Oh crap, did I do that?_ Jade thought. "What're we going to do?" she asked aloud.

"Just give me a second, ok?" The Na'Vi snapped. "We... we have to help it. Treat the wound or... or something!"

"So what, we're going to carry it to a hospital? Should I call an ambulance and use your braid to pick up a signal? We're not equipped to deal with our injuries, let alone this giant bat."

"I can't let it die like this." The Na'Vi stated stubbornly.

"Ok," Jade said. She pulled out her revolver and, with considerable accuracy, shot the Banshee in the head.

The clearing was silent for a few seconds as the Na'Vi stared open-mouthed at the dead Banshee. Jade calmly holstered her revolver and started to move off again. The Na'Vi stood up and began to yell at her, accidentally switching to his native language. He shouted what were obviously several curses and possibly death threats. Jade waited calmly until he ran out of breath.

"English please." She said.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" The Na'Vi demanded, using tone to make up for lack of expletives. "What possessed you to _do_ that!?"

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Jade asked. "Can we just get moving?"

"You make no sense, you know that?" The Na'Vi went on like Jade hadn't spoken. "One minute you're talking about your cat like you're a person with actual feelings then you murder a Banshee like it was nothing but a bug!"

"It had an obviously infected wound and it was dying. Did you expect me to pull a medkit out of my cleavage?" Jade retorted. "Besides, it got a bullet. I could have just walked off and left it."

"So that's all it was to you? A bullet?" The Na'Vi seemed incredulous. "No wonder your people can justify the atrocities you're committing here in the name of profit."

Jade chuckled. "You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about Nature Boy."

"Oh please enlighten me." The Na'Vi begged sarcastically. "Is systematically slaughtering a planet for a lump of rock all in aid of hungry, diseased children?"

"Listen to me you moralizing little shit," Jade said in a low, dangerous tone. "For a little human fanboy you screwed up your research big time. Didn't ever bother to ask any of the doctors or Avatars? Because _you're right_. That _is_ what this is all for. How big is your tribe? A hundred, two hundred? I can guarantee that many people are right now living in a space a little bigger than where we're standing now, breathing crappy air, eating crappy food and barely making enough money to get by."

Jade stepped dangerously close to the Na'Vi. "You know what your 'lump of rock' is worth back home? It's enough for urban renewal projects, reforestation – hell, we could regrow the whales with that kind of funding. Tens of billions of people living in a situation none of them are responsible for, and the only thing between them and a new chance at life is a bunch of stuck-up smurfy-cats who won't even consider our point of view. Then you and your people sit back in a death planet where every animal bows to your whims and you accuse us of ignorance. So wake up kid, 'cause you're the only one here who's ignorant."

Jade felt a headache coming on and wished she could rub her temples. "Just lead the way. I'm sick of this."

The Na'Vi complied, seeming deep in thought. The silence that followed seem huge, every little sound like the crunch of boots on grass or even the Na'Vi's bare feet on the soil seemed to reverberate and magnify. Jade noticed that in the light of the rising sun, the Na'Vi seemed diminished somehow. His shoulders hunched and his tail drooped. Jade had no idea how old he was, but he was obviously just a kid. Jade felt a pang of regret for snapping at him.

_Oh look, I'm empathizing with a Smurf. I think I died in that crash and this is my own personal hell._ Jade thought bitterly. _Or maybe I'm actually stumbling around somewhere dying of dehydration and this is just the dying dribbles of a madwoman bouncing around in my mind. I really hope it's the second one._ Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud grinding, crunching noise, reverberating through the forest and getting louder every second.

"Hey Nature Boy, hear that?" Jade tapped the Na'Vi on the shoulder. He looked startled and noticed the noise for the first time.

"What is that?" he wondered.

"Sounds human. Looks like you won't need me much longer." Jade said. The Na'Vi's expression was totally unreadable. The pair took off towards the noise, Jade's hopes rising at the thought of rescue. She spotted a plume of rising fuel exhaust and finally caught a glimpse. It was a vehicle. Jade's hopes sank when she realized that it was an unmanned bulldozer. A several-storeys-tall, remote-controlled killdozer. Even Jade found it hard to believe.

"Oh gee, a gigantic piss-off killdozer of doom," Jade remarked. "_That's_ a good way to be diplomatic! Christ, is the right hand even in the same _room_ as the left hand with these jokers?"

She felt the Na'Vi's stare. He looked surprised. Jade did a double-take.

"Why is it so surprising that I don't like this?" Jade hissed. "What happened to 'person with feelings'?"

Speech seemed to fail the young Na'Vi. Sighing, Jade ran in front of the bulldozer, jumping around and waving her arms so the cameras could get a good look at her. She didn't know if the dozer had microphones, but she yelled anyway.

"What the hell is blocking my dozer?" Parker Selfridge asked the driver.

"I don't know sir, it looks like a woman. Not a Na'Vi." The man replied.

"Well keep moving! She'll get out of the way." The executive said.

"She must be one of ours! Shouldn't we be-" the driver started.

"Now look at what is right in front of you," Selfridge said slowly, as if talking to an idiot. "A little girl who looks like she went mud-wrestling last night wanders in front of a bulldozer with her pet blue monkey and tries to stop it. Now, I have experience in these matters, so this whole thing screams 'hippy love-in protest'. Just keep going, she can't do anything."

"Oh shit, it's not stopping," Jade realized and backed away. "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME, ASSHOLE!?"

Almost a full minute of jumping and screaming followed by stepping back from the oncoming dozer, Jade had had enough. She drew her revolver and with two carefully-aimed shots, blew out the camera system.

"Ah, can someone tell me what the hell happened to my cameras?" Selfridge asked, coming out from his office.

"Someone shot the cameras out, sir." The pilot responded.

"What, a blue monkey with a bow blew out my expensive camera?" Selfridge said.

"No sir," the pilot rewound the video feed. He paused it just as Jade fired at the camera, capturing the muzzle flash from her revolver. "_She_ did."

"Ok, you all have exactly six seconds to tell me why the _hell_ there is a girl with a gun running around the forest shooting my cameras!" Selfridge exclaimed.

"There was an unexplained Samson crash yesterday, sir." A low-ranking officer told him. "The crew are missing in action, presumed dead. It might be a survivor."

"Why does nobody tell me these things? Someone throw me a fricking bone here!" Selfridge waved the man out. "Get someone on it. I want to know who she is and why she's consorting with the savages!"

"Shouldn't have got out of bed so early," Selfridge muttered to himself, sipping coffee.


	6. Caught!

Jade holstered her smoking revolver and sat down near the disabled dozer. The Na'Vi gaped at her.

"Is there a problem?" Jade asked.

"Are you _trying_ to confuse me now?" The Na'Vi asked.

"It's not exactly hard to do," Jade replied. "Obviously the people up top will want to know why one of their dozers isn't operational anymore. They'll send some people, maybe engineers and an escort. They'll find me here and I get to go home with them. Sure I'll get chewed out, maybe even demoted. Not my first time, and it sure as hell beats sitting around here."

"Oh. I guess you don't need me anymore." He said carefully.

"But what if a big scary monster comes along?" Jade warbled. "I'll need a big, strong Na'Vi to protect me."

"Look, if you're not going to take me seriously-"

"And you take me too seriously. _Yes_ you can stay, so stop whining." Jade rolled her eyes. The Na'Vi sat down opposite her.

"So I've been meaning to ask – do you use your braid for anything else?" Jade asked. "I'm being serious this time."

"Well we use them to ride our animals, commune with Eywa," The Na'Vi counted off fingers. "And form bonds with our mates."

"Uh, what?" Jade asked. "By 'mate' do you mean...?"

"When a male and female love each other-" The Na'Vi began.

"_I know what it means!_" Jade cut him off. "But... you use your tentacles for _that_?"

"Yes. And?"

"The same tentacles you stick in your animals." Jade said. She sat and waited. The moment the idea dawned on the young Na'Vi was glorious. The sudden rush of blood to his face turned it almost purple.

"No! We... they... and our..." He spluttered incoherently. "That comes _later!_ The bond is so Eywa can judge the union. If the two aren't soulmates then they go their separate ways."

_Laugher from her apartment. Male and female. Jade opened the door-_

"I... see..." Jade struggled to keep herself under control. She didn't like where the conversation was going. Thunder boomed nearby and the sun went behind the clouds. She stood up and looked away.

"Can we talk about something else?" She asked.

"But I'm curious. What do humans do?" The Na'Vi asked innocently.

_Keep it together. He doesn't know._ Jade thought. _It was five years ago. You got over it, remember? It's just a memory. Keep it together._

"On Earth two people meet each other and fall in love. Then they get married. But sometimes getting married was the wrong thing, so they... go their separate ways. Later." Jade explained carefully.

_The door opened. Candlelight spilled into the hallway. A woman in a red dress._

"Well the Na'Vi only every bond with their soulmates and they stay together for the rest of their lives." The young Na'Vi went on. "No couple has ever split after Eywa-"

_Jade opened the door. Candlelight spilled into the hallway. A woman in a red dress leaned in and kissed her husband passionately on the lips. He didn't even notice her come in._

"WELL AREN'T YOU ALL SO FUCKING PERFECT?" Jade yelled, wheeling to face him. "I WISH I WAS BORN A NA'VI! THEN MY LIFE WOULD BE ALL SUNSHINE AND FUCKING RAINBOWS WITHOUT A CARE IN THE WORLD! PLEASE COME TO MY WORLD AND FIX ALL THE PROBLEMS THAT WE IGNORANT HUMANS CREATED BECAUSE WE'RE JUST SO FUCKING INCOMPETANT COMPARED TO YOU!"

Lightning flashed. Thunder rumbled. The clouds broke again, spilling waves of heavy rain onto the forest below. Jade felt drained from her outburst, and her knees began to shake. She sat down heavily on a tree root her head hanging. She felt a presence beside her, but didn't look up. The Na'Vi sat down beside her. There was a long silence broken only by the patter of rain on the leaves and the ground.

"I'm sorry." The Na'Vi said quietly. Jade snorted.

"A Na'Vi admitting wrongdoing. Isn't that a sight." She said. The Na'Vi looked down again. Another silence.

"I really mean it, Jade." He went on, using her name for the first time. "I should have realized you didn't want to talk about it, but I didn't. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Jade said suddenly. The Na'Vi seemed startled. "It was five years ago. I thought I was over it. I should be over it."

"But it must have been hard. I can't imagine what you went through." The Na'Vi said. "You shouldn't feel bad about crying-"

_Jade ran outside. The rain poured down on her, mixing with her tears of sadness and fury. She found the emotion that was tearing her up inside and crushed it. She was a soldier. She was going to make her own way. She was going to support herself. And above all, she was never going to waste time crying and feeling sorry for herself again._

"I'm _NOT_ crying!" Jade denied. "It's just the rain. I haven't cried in five years and I'm not going to start now, least of all for you."

"I failed the test."

"What?" Jade was surprised by the sudden conversation turn.

"That's why I couldn't help the Banshee. My people have to go through a test to become men. We have to go to a Banshee nest and find one that will bond with us. But we have to fight with our Banshee and... I was too small. You only get one chance, and I blew it. I'll never be a man. I can't ride, I can't fight, I can't shoot, I can't move quietly. I'm more or less an outcast from my tribe. I attacked you because I wanted to prove how tough I was."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jade asked.

"I just want you to know that I'm not perfect." He explained. "I want you to know I'm not so different from you."

Jade put her hand on his shoulder. "It took balls to admit that. Being able to see your own flaws is good. You can turn them to your advantage and work to overcome them."

He smiled awkwardly. "I learned from the best."

"I've got a new nickname for you." Jade said. "Marty Stu. Sound good to you?"

He winced. "Please just Marty. The Stu is overkill."

There was a comfortable silence. Jade took a deep breath and took off her mask. She leaned back and let the rain wash over her, smiling. The Na'Vi got a good look at her for the first time. She had a twisted white scar splitting her right eyebrow in half, obviously a relic from past services. He also noticed a small jade hairpin keeping her hair in a ponytail. It was the only feminine object she had.

"Oh great." Jadesaid, looking at the Na'Vi. "We're friends now, aren't we?"

"I guess we are." He replied. Jade mulled it over.

"I'd say it's a good thing. You think so?" She asked. He agreed.

"How're you feeling, soldier?" Colonel Quaritch asked, leaning back in his chair. The two of them were inside the mess hall. It was empty at this time, with most other soldiers out on duty.

"I can't complain, sir." Captain Michael West replied. He wished he was standing easy. He had a knotted white scar over his right eye, an injury that had left him blind in that eye, that was itching fiercely. He was glad he was left-handed, so the injury didn't hinder him too much.

"I don't believe that." The Colonel said, shifting his weight. "I think you've been fretting about your sister ever since her Samson went down."

"I wouldn't let that get in the way of my duties, sir." Michael responded tersely.

"But it is your duty to help fellow soldiers, isn't that right?" Quaritch went on. "But we received intel today that suggests your sister is alive."

Michael couldn't keep his reaction under control. "I knew she was alive. I know I have my duties here but sir, if I could just-"

Quaritch held up a hand to silence the captain. "The problem is that your sister attacked and disabled one of our dozers. It doesn't look good for her. If there is one thing I don't want, it's one of ours going over to the enemy's side. The way I see it, you understand her better than anybody else. I'm sending you out ASAP. Find her and tell me what the hell she's playing at."

"Understood, sir." Michael nodded and left. _Damnit Jade, what the hell are you doing?_ He thought. He hoped that his sister could just stay out of trouble until he got there

"We have to hide. Now!" The Na'Vi ordered.

"What's wrong?" Jade asked, putting her mask back on.

"I'm an idiot! I should have recognized it before! This is one of the areas we hunt. There could be a hunting party any minute now!" The Na'Vi explained hurriedly. Jade didn't say anything. The Na'Vi turned around to face an arrowhead pointed at him from a few inches away. The bow's wielder was sitting astride a direhorse. Jade was standing behind, hands in the air with three more bows pointed at her.

"I hate this goddamn planet." Jade said in a resigned tone.

"So let me guess. These wonderful Na'Vi want to kill me, right?" Jade asked, dropping her revolver.

Marty didn't respond, as he was in the middle of a rushed conversation with one of the Na'Vi, obviously the leader. Though she couldn't understand the words, Jade caught the gist of the conversation from the tone. Marty was trying to explain something – probably her presence from all the gestures in her direction – and the hunting party leader was generally ignoring him.

"So what'll it be boys?" Jade asked the closest hunter. "Summary execution or will I be brought before your chief?" Of course the Na'Vi didn't understand her but she didn't care. She was just talking to fill in time while she thought up a plan.

"Hey, Dances With Smurfs or whatever the hell your name is," Jade called to the leader. "Are you going to kill me? It's just that I _hate_ waiting around."

"You may not speak." The Na'Vi replied in thickly-accented English.

"Wow, I guess you aren't the only one who bothered to learn." Jade remarked to Marty. He made vicious 'shut up' gestures and resumed the conversation. The leader started to get angry and Marty began to shrink away. The leader ended the conversation by kicking Marty to the ground. He had to roll away to avoid the direhorse hooves.

"An old acquaintance of yours?" Jade asked.

"Remember when I said I was basically an outcast?" Marty replied. "These guys caused most of that. Right now he's pondering whether to take us to Hometree and make an example of you or just kill you now and save some effort."

"I'm glad he cares. What about you?" Jade asked. Marty was about to reply when the leader apparently came to a decision, which was met with approval from the other three hunters. Marty went pale.

"Change of plans," he gulped. "He wants to kill me too for consorting with the Sky People. He says I'm not worthy to be part of the Na'Vi people."

"I am _so_ sick of this horseshit." Jade said through gritted teeth. The leader drew back an arrow, the poisoned arrowhead pointed at Marty's head. Jade stepped in front of him.

"Translate." She hissed. "Hey asshole! Aren't you the big strong warrior! It takes a brave man to shoot unarmed prisoners."

Marty stuttered a little, but mostly translated well. The leader's face twisted into a scowl.

"You know I'm a warrior too. I know how to fight. But I guess you're just too much of a weak little bitch to fight a woman." Jade went on. The other three Na'Vi looked horrified once Marty had finished translating.

"Enough, woman!" the leader cut her off. "You want to fight. I will fight."

"Then stop tentacle-raping that horse and get down here. You can look me in the eyes when I kill you." Jade said. _Shut up shut up shut up! You're just making it worse!_ her mind screamed. The leader unhooked his braid and lightly hopped off his direhorse. Jade instantly regretted speaking up. She'd forgotten that Marty was a small specimen – this one was ten feet tall. He gave an order to the other hunters, who backed off, leaving a small circular space. Marty backed off too. Jade pulled out her combat knife, the blade seeming woefully inadequate. The Na'Vi smirked and pulled out its own knife. It was bigger.

_I am so screwed._ Jade thought.

Michael was hanging out the side of the Samson, scanning the forest below. He was wearing an eyepatch now to protect his injured eye, and was heavily armed. He had only chosen three soldiers to accompany him not including the pilot, deciding that a smaller team would be easier to coordinate.

"Just settle down Cap, I'm sure we'll find her." The medic said. Michael had hand-picked the man for his skills. He just hoped nothing had happened to Jade to justify his presence.

"I know we will." Michael replied. "I just hope Jade doesn't get herself into trouble before I get there."

Jade was the first of the pair to get wounded. She knew that the first one to get hurt in a knife fight is usually the one who loses. She had tried to stay on the defensive, ducking and dodging while looking for an opening to wear the Na'Vi down. But she was too slow. She felt like she was moving against heavy wind, while the Na'Vi had no problem. The cut was shallow but long, curving down from her left shoulder to just above her left breast. It probably would have been deeper if it hadn't had to cut through her tough jacket first.

Jade staggered back, nursing the wound. The Na'Vi let her recover and wiped the blood off his knife with a finger. Jade switched to a standard grip to try and keep the Na'Vi away from her. A few quick slashed warded it off, and Jade quickly switched to a reverse grip to try and at least nick the Na'Vi as it dodged away. Bad move. It just grabbed her wrist and ripped the knife from her grasp. He kicked her in the stomach, sending Jade tumbling backwards. She fought the urge to retch and picked herself up. The Na'Vi tossed her knife aside.

"Please Jade, don't do this!" Marty begged. "He'll kill you!"

"As opposed to just killing us anyway. Brilliant plan." Jade panted, clutching her wound. "I'd rather go down fighting."

The Na'Vi got bored and went after her. Jade dodged and weaved, backing up until she hit a tree behind her. Jade ducked the vicious stab that would have pierced her mask and let it hit the tree behind her harmlessly. Not skipping a beat, Jade drove her elbow into the Na'Vi's arm joint with all the force she could muster, plus the extra momentum of her standing up. It was like hitting a brick wall, but it obviously hurt the Na'Vi as well since it let go of the knife. Jade drove her knee into the Na'Vi's groin and punched it in the stomach with both fists simultaneously. As it stumbled back, winded, Jade turned and tried to pull the knife from the tree. It was no use – it was stuck fast.

The Na'Vi slammed her head into the tree. Her mask didn't break, but a worrying fracture appeared on the glass. He spun her around and kneed her in the stomach, which made Jade want to throw up her lungs. He tried to retaliate with a weak punch. The Na'Vi caught her arm, and snapped it. Jade screamed in pain. The Na'Vi pulled his knife out of the tree and ripped Jade's mask off with his free hand. Jade had only just managed to take a deep breath, but lost most of it when the knife raked over her face, leaving a deep gash over her left eye. The Na'Vi lifted her up and threw her down in the middle of the circle.

Jade spotted her Wasp lying on the grass in front of her. She tried to ignore the stabbing pain in her arm, and crawled over to it. She reached over with her good arm. Suddenly the Na'Vi stomped on it, eliciting another howl of pain. The Na'Vi rolled her over onto her back and crouched above her, his knife ready. The rain was still pouring down, stinging her cuts and mixing with her blood.

A fast-moving shape rocketed out of nowhere and hurled the Na'Vi off her. With a great effort, Jade rolled over to look. Marty had tackled the hunter and was now sitting on his chest, laying into the Na'Vi's faced with punch after rage-fuelled punch. Once the hunter got over the initial surprise he kicked Marty off and stood up. The other three hunters closed in, bows ready.

"I hate this fucking planet." Jade said, using up the last of her air.


	7. First Breath

Jade took her first breath of unfiltered Pandoran air. It burned her throat and lungs, sending her into a fit of hacking coughs. She tried to breathe, but just drew in more poisonous air. She spotted her exopack mask lying nearby in the grass. She managed to flip herself over and started crawling, counting down the seconds until she lost consciousness. Her fingers hooked around the masks' seal, and she pulled it towards her.

A blue foot stamped down on the mask, shattering the visor. Jade looked up. The leader was standing over her, holding Marty by the scruff of the neck. He threw the smaller Na'Vi into a tree behind him and bent down to pick up Jade. He raised her to eye level.

"You got your wish, human," he sneered, and raised his knife. A tree branch smashed him in the back of the head, snapping his head forwards. He shook his head and started to look around. The second strike carried so much force the branch snapped in half. The leader's eyes slowly crossed and lost focus. He dropped Jade and toppled over. Jade landed in a heap on the ground, unconscious.

"Jade! Jade, come on, wake up!" Marty leaned over her, bruised and streaked in blood from his fight. "Come on, I know you're not dead. Wake up!"

The other three hunters drew closer. Suddenly the roar of helicopter blades filled the air. Michael's Samson swooped down over the scene. Michael spotted the Na'Vi crouching over his little sister's body and reached for his rifle.

"Bring us down!" he ordered.

"Can't sir, clearing's too small! I'll have to-" the pilot began to reply. Michael didn't hear the rest. He jumped out of the chopper. His rifle was slung across his back, leaving both hands free. His target was the disabled bulldozer that towered over the clearing; he planned to hit the front of the behemoth at an angle. He hit the metal hard and slid down the angled section he had landed on. He kicked off just before the angled section stopped and rolled as he hit the ground. He came up in a crouch, freeing his rifle as he did. Michael held his rifle 'gangsta style' tilted ninety degrees to the right. Held in this way the recoil would jump the muzzle to his right if he fired, perfect for covering a wide angle.

"Back away from the woman or I _will_ open fire!" Michael yelled. The three mounted hunters aimed their bows at him. Michael fired a three-shot burst at the ground just beneath the mount of the centre Na'Vi, spooking the animal. He could hear the Samson land behind him and his men jumped out. The hunters sensed that a confrontation wouldn't go well and left. The smallest Na'Vi was left standing alone between the unconscious bodies of Jade and the leader. Michael advanced on him, switching back to a standard rifle grip. The Na'Vi backed away, terrified of the man. Michael stopped next to Jade and crouched down. He took his right hand off the barrel of his rifle to feel Jade's pulse.

"Medic!" Michael shouted. The medic raced to his side and inspected Jade. Not wasting any time he opened a medkit and began treating Jade's cuts with incredible speed. Michael was glad he'd brought the man. The second soldier looked around and found Jade's shattered exopack. Michael felt his heart rise in his throat, and then ordered the two soldiers left to find a spare exopack in the Samson.

"There, it's done." The medic said, having stitched the slash over Jade's eye and bandaged it as well as putting Jade's broken arm in a sling. "She won't bleed out anytime soon but we _need_ that exopack."

Michael tried to remember how much time had passed. It had been three minutes, and even now the seconds counted down almost supernaturally fast. Even if the soldiers at the Samson found a spare mask, they wouldn't make it back in time. Michael stood up and glared venomously at the Na'Vi that must have been responsible.

"You have ten seconds to run, asshole." Michael told the Na'Vi darkly. He glanced down at the medic.

"Use this." He said curtly. The medic looked up, a question forming. Michael took a deep breath, filling his lungs to much he thought he would burst. He ripped off his mask and dropped it next to Jade. Michael stalked towards the small Na'Vi, rage boiling in his veins. The Na'Vi's mouth moved, but Michael didn't hear anything. The only thought in his mind was how he was going to kill it for hurting his little sister. His soldier half reached for his gun, but his brotherly half stopped it. He wanted to feel it. He wanted to beat the alien until it was nothing but a bloody blue pulp.

The Na'Vi put up its fists, as if it stood a chance. Michael let it have one punch. It was a miss so close Michael could feel it part the air. He let the Na'Vi's momentum carry it onto his knee. The force of the strike made it retch. Michael turned around and grabbed it by the braid, dragging it over to him and hauling it off-balance. He slammed his elbow into its chest and brought his knee up into the back of its head. It stumbled away and turned drunkenly to face him. Michael dodged the next punch and just headbutted it right in the catlike nose. He heard a crunch and it toppled over.

Michael crouched over it. He slowly drew his handgun and clicked the safety off. He jammed the barrel into its forehead-

"STOP!" The voice cut through Michael's blind rage. He looked up. Jade was standing, pale and sweating but alive. Michael smiled in relief.

"Jade!" he called, finally releasing the air in his lungs. They began to burn, crying out for oxygen but he ignored it. He holstered his gun, climbed off the Na'Vi and raced over to Jade. He pulled her into an embrace so strong and tight she felt her bones creak, and her feet lifted off the ground. Jade looked stick-thin next to Michael's brawny body.

"Ow, I'm wounded, remember?" Jade said. Michael let her down. The medic tapped him on the shoulder, handing him the spare mask that the soldiers had found. He put it on and tried to breathe, finally paying back with interest what he'd taken from his body.

"Don't scare me like that." He managed to say. "I thought you were dead."

"And miss the look on your face?" Jade replied, smiling. "Ow." She said as the smile twinged her wound.

"Listen miss, we need to get you back to base." The medic butted in.

"No," Jade waved him off, deep in thought. She spotted her gun on the ground and picked it up. She started walking towards the unconscious leader.

"Miss, really, we're going back to base for proper care right now." The medic persisted.

"If you keep annoying me I'm going to make my brother hurt you." Jade snapped. The medic paled at the thought. He backed off. Jade crouched over the fallen leader and slapped it with the barrel of her gun until it woke up. It blinked blearily, having trouble focusing until Jade jammed her gun into its face.

"I said I'd look you in the eyes when I killed you." Jade hissed, cocking the gun. But she hesitated. Her finger was on the trigger, but her muscles seemed to have seized.

"Come on Jade, just shoot it and let's go." Michael said impatiently.

"Please don't do it, Jade." Marty said. Jade looked up, not realizing the Na'Vi was still there. Blood was streaming from his nose and he looked ready to fall over, but he was standing next to Jade.

"Is this the part where you give me a speech about the sanctity of life to persuade me not to shoot this asshole?" Jade asked.

"No."Marty said simply. "I don't have a speech. I'm asking you ask a friend; please don't."

Jade glared at the leader that had tried to kill her. She was in pain and exhausted, and right now the object of her pent-up rage was right in front of her. Jade fired.


	8. For a Friend

The leader opened his eyes. He saw smoke curling from the barrel of Jade's gun. The bullet had barely nicked his forehead as it passed, burying itself in the ground beside him. Jade turned her back on the Na'Vi.

"Get out of my sight." Jade said darkly. "You have ten seconds."

The leader stood up and backed away, glaring at Jade. She spun and fired, the second bullet striking a tree just next to the leader's head. He took off.

"Run home to your mother!" Jade yelled. She sighed and ejected all the spend casings from her revolver. Both Michael and Marty were staring at her.

"What?" she snapped. "Why is everyone suddenly so interested in what I'm doing?"

"Jade, are you feeling all right?" Michael asked.

"No! I've been stuck out here for twenty-four hours with no food or water with only Marty to keep me company and now he's my best friend!" Jade replied, gesturing in Marty's direction. "Plus I just got knifed by a ten-foot Smurf. I think it's self-evident that I'm not feeling all right!"

Michael ordered his men back to the Samson. He glanced between Jade and Marty. Marty was looking at Jade with a mix of confusion and respect. Then he looked at Michael and got nervous. He wasn't that much taller than Michael, and was certainly thinner.

"Uh... hi." Marty said. Michael raised an eyebrow.

"You can talk?" he asked.

"Yes, he can speak fluent English." Jade replied before Marty could. "Can we get back to how I'm friends with a Na'Vi?"

Michael glanced back at Marty. "Pretty small, isn't he?"

"You probably didn't get the chance to notice that while you were pummelling him," Jade said. "You know, right after he saved my life. Twice."

Michael cursed Jade's ability to make him look like an idiot. "Look, when I came in you were bleeding and unconscious."

"So was he." Jade pointed out. Michael looked around awkwardly.

"Thank you... for saving my sister..." Michael said extremely quickly, barely making eye contact with Marty. It was enough to make Marty grin happily.

"But are you all right physically?" Michael asked.

"Well I don't think I have any blood left and I'm just operating on adrenaline at the moment." Jade replied matter-of-factly. "How about you Marty?"

"About the same, though I'll probably never smell again." Marty replied. Michael's headbutt had somehow managed to make Marty's nose even wider.

Michael felt a bruise forming on his forehead and wished he could rub it.

"Jade, please tell me what's wrong." Michael said.

"I was going to kill him." Jade replied. "I _wanted_ to kill him. But I just couldn't."

She looked at Marty. "I guess we can blame this little preacher. In one day he's taught me respect for life. That'll be a handicap for military service."

"Don't take it the wrong way." Marty told Michael. "It was mostly her telling me I was wrong about everything I thought I knew."

He looked at Jade. "And you know what? You're right. I know I didn't act like it, but I enjoyed talking to you."

"Ok, that was touching Jade, but we _really_ need to get going." Michael butted it. "The Colonel is going to chew you out for breaking that dozer."

"Screw him. Say it was an improvised distress beacon." Jade remarked. Michael sighed and rolled his eyes. He paused to give Marty the briefest of handshakes and jogged off to the Samson. Jade and Marty exchanged a glance.

"Probably won't have time for our chats anymore, will we?" Jade asked. "Pity. I've got plenty more things that piss me off about this planet."

"I'm game if you are," Marty replied. "I know a place near the base. It's sheltered, nobody would be able to see or hear us."

Jade thought about it. "Maybe." She turned and walked over to the Samson, where Michael was impatiently beckoning her. Marty gave an awkward half-wave as it rose over the canopy and disappeared. He sighed and walked away.

That night, Marty sat in his shelter. His cuts had been bandaged and his nose set. Back at Hometree the leader had denied fighting Marty, probably embarrassed that a human woman and a runt had been able to beat him unarmed. Marty's tail twitched impatiently.

A hand touched him on the shoulder. He gave a shout of surprise that was embarrassingly squeaky and shot into the air. He spun around to see Jade laughing. She was wearing an eyepatch over her left eye and her left arm was in a cast. He also noticed that she wasn't wearing armour or a gun. Even the knife sheath slung across her chest was empty. She noticed where he was looking, but gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"Sneaking out of a base where your brother is a high-ranked officer is hard, but doable." She remarked off-hand. "Smuggling weapons out – that's another story."

"I didn't think you were coming."

"And miss pointing out all your flaws?" Jade grinned. "Wouldn't miss that for the world."

"So what happened when you got back?"

"The 'patch is temporary, before you ask. People have been calling me a mirror clone of my brother, so the sooner I get it off the better. I'm going to have a wicked scar, though. That should bring some respect. Turns out my brother convinced the Colonel that I sabotaged that dozer as an impromptu S.O.S signal. So it's a fine out of my paycheck instead of demotion." Jade explained.

"Are you happy?" Marty blurted out. Jade raised an eyebrow. "It's just... I've been thinking about my tribe and your company. I know it's stupid but... sometimes I wish I was a human."

"That's an odd wish." Jade remarked, her tone neutral.

"Humans seem free to make their own way. I have to do what the rest of the tribe says I should, and when I couldn't they lost all respect for me." Marty went on, downcast. "Helping you was literally the only thing I'd ever done right."

Jade patted him on the shoulder. "But it was a good thing. Look, I don't know many Na'Vi, but from what I've seen I wish all Na'Vi were like you. And to be honest... I'm glad I met you. I really haven't had any friends since... five years ago, but I'm proud to consider you one."

There was a long but comfortable silence.

"So I've been meaning to ask. Do you actually hunt or does your god provide food so you can just frolic in meadows all day?"


	9. Slipping

"How's your arm?" Marty asked. He and Jade were sitting in a secluded spot near Hell's Gate. Jade rapped on her cast.

"I'll be getting this off soon. It was a pretty clean break, and I heal fast." She replied. "So how are things with tall, blue and stupid?"

Marty looked blank. "Jake Sully?" Jade prompted. "I heard he got accepted into your tribe."

"Oh, him. What about him?" Marty asked.

"Well... how's he doing with the 'please leave so we can get our Unobtanium'?" Jade went on.

"Uhhh... He hasn't said anything about that. He's just been training and stuff. He bonded with his Banshee a little while ago." Marty explained. "Was he supposed to?"

"YES!" Jade snapped. "The whole point of the Avatar program is to _diplomatically_ make you leave. He's supposed to be talking to your tribe!"

Marty waited out the outburst. Jade quickly calmed down.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm a little on edge. I'm on light duties at the base and I'm going a bit stir-crazy. I just want to get this Unobtanium and go home. Believe it or not, I actually don't want a war if I can avoid one. Neither does about three-quarters of the people here. Most people in the army nowadays just want a steady job. The psychopaths who like killing things are in the minority."

"What are we supposed to do? Hand out flowers and ask everyone to 'give peace a chance'?" Marty asked.

"I don't know," Jade admitted. "We just need to do something. Maybe if we both work at this they'll all at least change their minds. I need to get back or Michael will pop a vein worrying."

She got up and moved off back to the base. Marty stood up as well.

"So I'll see you again tomorrow?" Marty asked.

"Sure," she replied, smiling.

Back at the base, Jade turned on the light in her room. Michael appeared out of the darkness, his arms folded. Jade started.

"So what have you been doing?" Michael asked.

"What are you, my father?" Jade retorted. "I can take care of myself."

"Jade, the last time I let you out of my sight you almost died!" Michael snapped. Jade looked away. Somehow, Michael having only one eye to glare at her with made it even worse.

"You have no idea what you put me through." Michael said more softly, putting his hands on Jade's shoulders.

"So you got knifed by a ten-foot Smurf?" Jade asked.

"Look, it's dangerous out there-"

"I _know_, alright?" Jade cut him off. "Stop treating me like a baby. I'm having all these talks with Marty because I'm trying to figure out if there's any way this can end without a war."

"So now you're campaigning for peace and goodwill? Just what happened to you?"

"What happened to making sure I didn't get hurt?"

There was a pause. "Point. Taken."

Jade lifted Michael's hands off her shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Look, just trust me. Please."

Michael left without another word. Jade flopped down on her bed, feeling a headache coming on. Finally, she went to sleep.

Over the next few weeks, things went from bad to worse. Michael was in the main room when one of the remote-controlled bulldozers was disabled. The Colonel rewound the video and recognized Jake Sully in his Avatar body. Michael was part of the security detachment that went with Quaritch to pick up Sully.

Michael was there when Hometree was destroyed. He sat in the back of the Scorpion as it fired its missiles at the base of the massive tree, and wished that he had tried to help Jade. He looked up. Someone was sitting across from him. It was the medic that he had brought to save Jade. He was trying to ignore what was going on outside as well. In fact, even the door gunners were spraying half-heartedly.

When it was finally over and the fleet of airships turned back to the base, Michael made eye contact with the medic.

"How're you holding up?" he asked. "Permission to speak freely." He added before the medic could ask.

"It doesn't feel right, Cap. I didn't sign up for this."

"None of us did. You may not like it, but we have to do this. This is the only road we can go down now." Michael said. "You just concentrate on stitching me up if I accidently blow my arm off, ok?"

Michael's joke did nothing to lighten the mood. He gave up.

Jade heard about the attack when Michael got back to base. He told her all about how Jake Sully hadn't managed to convince the Na'Vi to leave, and had betrayed the RDA. Jade put her head in her hands.

"This is bullshit. It's like nothing makes sense anymore. It's like the universe is conspiring to force us to fight. I mean, did we _have_ to bomb their home like a nuclear test site?" Jade said to herself exasperatedly. Michael patted her on the shoulder and left her alone.

And now it had come down to this. The Na'Vi were staging one last defence at the Tree of Souls. Jade's arm had healed, and she was marching alongside her brother with the rest of the ground troops. Dozens of Samsons and Scorpions were flying above their heads, as well as a modified shuttle-bomber and a Dragon gunship. Jade adjusted the seal on her mask, checked her weapon and glanced at the AMP suit to her left.

"You ok?" Michael asked. Jade took a long time to reply.

"Yeah." She replied, not looking at him.

Marty picked up his bow. He was about to take part in the battle to decide the future of his culture, and he was terrified. He barely knew how to use his bow, and he certainly didn't feel like a fierce warrior. His warpaint only compounded the problem. He felt ridiculous, like a child playing dress-up. He'd heard the rousing speech Jake had given, but he didn't feel the effects. He was just scared.

But most of all, they were both afraid of meeting each other one last time.


	10. Everything You Ever

"Pass me another mag!" Michael shouted. Jade pulled a rifle magazine out of a pouch in her belt and tossed it to Michael. He caught it easily despite his depth-perception problems and loaded it into his rifle. He had run dry very quickly, but Jade had plenty of clips to spare. The AMP suit to her left was firing its canon wildly, the enormous shells practically tearing Na'Vi apart.

A Na'Vi direhorse rider broke through the hail of bullets. The rider readied an arrow and aimed his bow at Michael. Michael dodged away from the arrow and returned with a three-shot burst, blasting the rider out of his seat. Jade ducked into a crouch, her left elbow planted on her knee to stabilize her rifle. She fired a three-shot burst which knocked a Na'Vi off his feet.

_"Is it hard?" Marty had asked. "Killing people?"_

"The first time," she had replied. "You replay it over and over in your head. You try to figure out how you could have changed it. You start to wonder if you deserved to live instead of them. If you're lucky, you realize that it was the only way, and move on."

"And afterwards?"

A pause. "It's a lot easier afterwards."

Marty hid behind a tree, his chest heaving and his heart beating insanely fast. He was stuck using his own feet since he couldn't ride a Banshee or a Direhorse. His bow felt way too big, and heavy. He was carrying a fistful of arrows, poison glistening on their arrowheads. He readied an arrow and fired it into the crowd of marines. The bow's draw had been too much for him, and the arrow stuck in the ground short of its target. Marty ducked back behind the tree as bullets buzzed past him.

Michael noticed an Avatar on the front lines. It was using a broken-off door gun from a Samson to spray wildly at the advancing Marines. Michael steadied his aim and fired another burst into the Avatar's chest. He toppled over and lay still. Michael had no idea if the scientist would wake up in his link bed. He wasn't even sure he cared.

The Na'Vi were losing ground fast, their superior numbers paling in comparison to the RDA's advantage of firepower. Jade didn't know how things were going in the air, but there seemed to be a lot of dead Na'Vi and Banshees dropping to the ground, so she assumed the RDA were winning. Suddenly, the AMP suit to her left held up a hand to halt. The ground began to rumble and the bottom dropped out of Jade's stomach.

A herd of giant Hammerhead Titanotheres burst from the undergrowth. The enormous creatures levelled their massive bony heads and charged. Michael grabbed Jade and dived behind a tree, nestling his sister and him into a niche between two large tree roots. Beside them the AMP suit was bowled over by one of the creatures and crushed beneath the massive bulk. Michael looked up. The sky was full of riderless banshees.

"What the _fuck_?" Michael yelled. "Where did they come from?"

The wave of Titanotheres has passed, but the few left found themselves attacked by packs of Viperwolves. Michael and Jade scrambled to their feet as a Viperwolf snuck up behind a man and pounced on his head. Michael booted one of the Viperwolves in the head, sending it squealing into the undergrowth. He drew his knife and held it clamped against his rifle, slashing any animal that got too close. Jade found herself with her back to Michael, laying down wide arcs of suppressing fire.

Marty could scarcely believe it. Just a few seconds ago his people had been on the verge of defeat. Then, suddenly what looked to be the sum of Pandora's animal life had burst out of nowhere to win the day. There was an enormous explosion somewhere far off as, unknown to him, the shuttle full of explosives crashed. Marty yelled in surprise as a huge black shape streaked past him, but the Thanator took no notice of him. He almost had a heart attack when he turned and saw _another_ Thanator. As far as he knew, the creatures never strayed within miles of each other. It had to be Eywa controlling them.

Jade reloaded her rifle, and turned. She saw the Thanator charging towards her, snarling mouth full of enormous teeth ready to tear her apart in seconds. Michael saw it as well, and reacted. He moved almost in slow-motion in relation to the thing's frightening speed. His bulk collided with Jade and she was sent sprawling. She rolled over and looked up just in time to see the Thanator snap up her brother.

Michael was dangling from the creature's jaws, yelling in pain. It shook him around like a ragdoll, which only served to intensify his screams. Jade emptied her entire rifle into its belly with almost record speed, but she may as well have been shooting a tank.

"JADE!" Michael managed to yell. "RUN!"

"I WON'T LOSE YOU!" Jade yelled, fumbling to reload her rifle. Michael went silent. There was a split second of almost serene calm before the Thanator swallowed him whole. Jade's world stopped. Her gun dropped from nerveless fingers, the spare magazine in her other hand spilling a bullet. The Thanator turned to her, barely satisfied with the meal her brother had made. Jade dropped to her knees, the sounds of battle far away and indistinct, like a faint buzzing in her ear. She could still see Michael in front of her, as real as the day before the mission that had scarred his face.

There was something on the ground in front of her. Jade looked at it with curious detachment. It took her a second to process the fact that it was a cluster if three grenade pins. Jade looked up. The Thanator exploded. Michael's last act – pulling the pins on the grenades in his belt – had saved Jade's life. She stood up and picked up her rifle.

Marty came out from his hiding spot. He spotted a Marine, covered in blood and holding a rifle. Marty drew back an arrow and sighted it. He loosed.

Jade felt something hit her in the stomach, sending her sprawling into the tree behind her. She looked down. There was a five-foot arrow protruding from her stomach. It had easily punched through her armour and shirt, and was probably protruding out the other side. Jade felt cold, primal fear wash over her. The pain started.

"Medic!" she yelled. Or at least, thought she yelled. It came out as a desperate croak. There was nobody there to help. Though she didn't know it, the medic that had saved her weeks ago was dead somewhere nearby, an arrow through his throat. Jade plucked uselessly at the shaft, her numb fingers sliding off without the strength to grip it. Her vision started to blur. She didn't know if it was the neurotoxin on the arrow or something else. A tall, blue shape rushed up to meet her, and Jade fumbled for her gun.

"Stay back." Jade tried to warn, unable to even grip the butt of her pistol. It crouched next to her.

"Jade?" a voice said, a quiet word full of horror. Jade's vision cleared slightly. She saw a fierce Na'Vi warrior covered in warpaint, its bow slung across its back.  
"Marty?" she breathed. In her pain-addled delusions she thought it was Marty leaning over her. The warrior's gaze flicked all over her, always darting back to the wound.  
"Oh no," it seemed to be whispering to itself. "No no no no no..."

Jade felt a fresh wave of pain hit her. How long had it been since the arrow struck? She didn't remember. Time seemed to be blurring.

"Jade, just... j-just hold on..." the warrior stuttered frantically, craning its neck to look around. "I'll find help."

"It's ok." Jade said, her eyes focused on something the warrior couldn't see. "The Colonel will save us. Never leave a man behind."

The pain was receding. The world seemed to be shrinking as well, compressing until that tiny patch of grass with her and the warrior in it was the only thing in the universe. Jade looked up at the stormy skies and felt wet tracks slide down her cheeks.

"It's raining." Jade wasn't sure if she had said this or the warrior. She struggled to raise her arms. She wanted to feel the rain on her face. Her hand fumbled uselessly at the seal of her mask and flopped to her side. The warrior reached over and gently lifted it off. Jade lay back and let the rain wash over her. Jade's mouth twitched into a smile.

"J-Jade?" Marty whispered. He stared at Jade, wanting her to open her eyes, wanting to see her chest move as she took a breath. She didn't move. The neurotoxin had done its work. He knew if he checked her pulse, he wouldn't find one. He stared at her for what felt like hours. He wanted to feel sad. He wanted to feel angry. He felt empty. There was a black hole in his chest that was collapsing him from the inside.

"Please." He begged. Marty put a hand on her shoulder. Her body was still warm, but growing colder with every passing second. He suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace, as if that would bring her back.

"I'm sorry." He sobbed, and the tears finally came.

Jake Sully was sitting by the Tree of Souls. The rest of the Omaticaya tribe was at Hell's Gate, herding the remaining humans onto the shuttle to go back to Earth. He was due to have his consciousness transferred to his Avatar permanently soon, and he wasn't really sure how to feel about it. It was raining heavily, something that annoyed Jake.

He heard someone draw near. He stood and turned around. Standing in front of him was a small Na'Vi, seven feet tall at most. He was carrying a dead human woman in his arms, a Na'Vi arrow protruding from her stomach. He wasn't carrying his bow, and the last scraps of warpaint were even now being washed away by the rain.

He walked past Jake like he wasn't even there. Jake was surprised. He was Toruk Makto – more or less the supreme ruler of the Na'Vi. The small Na'Vi hadn't even glanced at him. Jake watched silently. The small Na'Vi crouched next to the Tree of Souls and gently laid the dead woman on the ground.

Marty's arms were tired and burning from carrying Jade's weight. He had barely managed to make the last few metres. Lying there without her mask, Jade seemed almost peaceful. Marty's eyes were burning. He had cried his last on the way to the Tree, but his eyes kept burning.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly, as if she could hear him. "I gave in to my fear. I... was too scared to try and stop this. "

He dug his fingers into the muddy ground around the Tree's roots. "I'm not who you thought I could be..."

Marty looked up at the stormy sky, the rain stinging his eyes. "I'm nothing."

He looked back down at Jade's face. "Forgive me..." he choked.

"She can't anymore, kid." Jake said, standing behind the smaller Na'Vi. "She's gone."

"Be... Because of me." Marty replied, still looking down at Jade. Jake remained silent for a while. It was obvious what the small Na'Vi was feeling about the woman.

"Blaming yourself makes it easier." He said finally. "It keeps the pain at a safe distance. Same thing happened to me when Tom died."

"What the hell do you know?" Marty yelled, spinning to face the taller Avatar. "She's dead! I lost."

"I've lost people too." Jake replied. "Tom... Grace... Trudy... You need to understand that-"

"I understand _perfectly_ well," Marty cut him off, new energy in his voice. "This is all because of _you!_ You were supposed to stop this from happening! You were supposed to bring peace! You could have stopped this! But all you did was run around the forest and flirt with Neytiri! So _don't_ you _**dare**_ lecture me!"

Marty's energy seemed to leave him after the outburst. He turned back to Jade and crouched beside her. There was a long silence broken only by the patter of rain as it hit the ground and the two Na'Vi.

"You're right." Jake said finally. "I was supposed to help you, but I got too caught up with having legs again. I enjoyed being a Na'Vi too much. I came here with a job and I blew it. I'm sorry."

There was another silence. "A Na'Vi admitting wrongdoing," Marty retorted quietly. "Isn't that a sight."

Marty stood up. "When the humans return, I'll be ready," he told Jade. "I'll talk to them. I promise."

He turned and walked away from the Tree of Souls. He didn't even look at Jake as he brushed past. Before long the Pandoran vegetation had swallowed him up, leaving no trace. Jake glanced at the dead woman beside the tree and left as well.

The rain stopped. The clouds slowly began to disperse as the sun burned through. The last few raindrops slid off Jade's face.

A single seed of the Tree of Souls slowly floated down and landed on Jade's cheek.


	11. After Credits: Ace in the Hole

_Mr. Selfridge, I am very disappointed. _

_You have betrayed the company's trust and lost a vital business asset. However I am a man who believes in second chances. You have until the Venture Star gets back to Earth. It is in your best interests to make that time count. Based on your report I will consider if you should remain a part of the company or not. _

Selfridge had read the message countless times now. It didn't get any better with subsequent readings. He was currently in his Hell's Gate office, along with the remaining scientists and a couple of soldiers. The traitor Jake Sully's monkeys were keeping him and his staff under lock and key until the ISV Venture Star came back on its rotation. He'd used the time to send a simple text message to the RDA head office back on Earth. It had taken a long time for the message and its reply to bounce between comm buoys to Earth and back, but it had done it. Now all he needed was some way to fix things.

Selfridge sighed. At least he had some privacy. The monkeys were only guarding the airlocks. He suddenly had an idea. Selfridge pulled a drawer open and picked something out. He stood up and walked over to the holographic display in the centre of the room and inserted something.

"S-sir, what are you doing?" a scientist asked.

"Finding ourselves an ace in the hole," Selfridge replied. An image flickered to life. It was the footage from a bulldozer cam from what felt like a lifetime ago. It showed Corporal Jade West firing at the camera with one of the blue monkeys beside her. Selfridge pushed the fast-forward button. The scene switched, this seemingly from a POV shot. There was a small Na'Vi in view, looking at the camera.

"How's your arm?" it asked in near-perfect English. The camera dipped and an arm came into view, covered in a cast and SecOps armour. A human hand rapped on the cast.

"I'll be getting this off soon," Jade's voice said, crackling slightly from the poor recording quality.

"What is that?" a soldier asked.

"Our friend Miss West here has been consorting with the enemy," Selfridge replied, fast-forwarding again. "Her brother went to the late Colonel about it, who came to me. We decided to make the most of it and plant surveillance on her. She's been streaming video live to my office ever since."

"But why are you looking at it now? We've lost."

"Nope. We haven't yet. Weren't you listening when I said 'ace in the hole'?" Selfridge went on. "She's not here. I checked around. She's MIA. Now, my best guess is that her blue monkey friend let her stay here. She's in with the savages even without an Avatar. She can give us intel. We find her and we find the last foothold we have on this planet."

"But sir, we're done. It's over. W-"

"I am not going to let those flea-bitten savages beat us! If there is even the slightest chance then I am taking it! Capiche?" Selfridge snapped. The scene was now the battle for the Tree of Souls. Jade watched a Thanator explode and bent down to pick up her rifle. Something knocked her off her feet and sent her sprawling. The camera dipped down and showed the Na'Vi arrow through her stomach. Selfridge clenched his fist and turned away.

"How do we get intel from a dead woman?" the soldier wondered aloud. Selfridge turned back. The exopack-mounted camera was now on the ground. A native was cradling Jade's body. It picked up her exopack and her body and moved off. Selfridge fast-forwarded, his interest piqued. The native eventually laid the body at the foot of the Tree of Souls. The exopack rolled off Jade's body and came to a rest on the ground, her body only just in frame. Selfridge suddenly remembered something Dr. Augustine had said.

"Alright boys, I've got a plan." Selfridge said, rubbing his hands together. He moved towards the door, snagging an exopack as he did.

"Where're you going?" someone asked.

"I'm goin' to ask for the body of a fallen comrade."


End file.
